Loosely based on a true story of an Italian American paid to drive a virtuoso black pianist on tour around the Deep South in 1962, Green Book is basically a buddy movie also dealing with racial issues. Somewhat of a departure from the rest of the director's output of puerile comedy films, it recreates the atmosphere of the time vividly and does not flinch from depicting the poisonous racial intolerance that pervades society, even the lack of acceptance the pianist encounters from other black people for his educated mannerisms. It has been criticised for being yet another example of the white saviour trope, with the white driver repeatedly saving the pianist from assaults and even introducing him to the music of Aretha Franklin and the pleasure of eating fried chicken, but it really goes both ways, the pianist teaching the driver to write letters properly to his wife and stop characterising black people as a homogenous mass. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, respectively as employee and employer, put in sterling work and the chemistry between them is palpable. It's genuinely affecting and for once, a deserving winner of the Best Picture Oscar.
8/10
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